Considering hospice

Hey there,

I'm a new RN of about 4 months working in med-surg at my local hospital. I used to work Hospice as a CNA before I completed my degree, and I loved it. I loved being one on one with my patient for an hour or so and being able to focus solely on them without worrying about the 9 or 10 other patients I'd been assigned to that day or running for call lights or that patient who's about to fall.

I don't plan on leaving med-surg just yet. I want, at least, my year of solid acute hospital experience under my belt, just in case, but my mind keeps drifting back to hospice work. It was such a great job, and while it could be sad, I always felt really good about the work I was doing and rarely ever stressed and anxious. (Not that bedside hospital care isn't good work too, but I'm sure you know what I mean.) I know being a CNA is different from the RN aspect, and I really do love only working 3 nights a week as opposed to the 8-5 Monday through Friday work I did with Hospice. But my anxiety is through the roof to the point I'm having trouble sleeping and getting heart palpitations every night I have to go in. Every job has its issues, I know, and being a new RN makes that worse, of course, but I'm wondering if anyone here would be willing to tell me how being a hospice RN is like? And what they love about it?

The beauty of nursing is that if I didn't like it, after all, I could always do something else, but the fact I keep thinking of going back to hospice more often than I think about advancing here at the hospital I feel like should tell me something.